Energy Exchange

The Most Carbon-Efficient Year Ever for America’s Power Industry?

By Gavin Purchas / Published: April 15, 2015

It’s been 60 years in the making and it’s finally here: America’s power generation fleet has changed so much since the 1950s, and especially over the last decade, that the amount of carbon we emit per megawatt-hour of electricity produced has dropped to its lowest point in recorded history.

In fact, 2015 could be the cleanest ever for our power industry, according to a recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Two major developments have driven this change:

Renewable energy projects are skyrocketing.

Based on confirmed contracts, renewable energy will hit a record 18.3 gigawatt of new build in 2015. Of that, 9.1 gigawatts will come from solar (an all-time high) and 8.9 gigawatt from wind (third-most ever).

By the end of 2014, renewables (not including hydro power) accounted for 7 percent of electricity generated in the United States. Solar and wind, alone, are expected to account for 60 percent of new capacity in 2015. Read More »

Methane Emissions from Oil & Gas are on the Rise, Confirm Latest EPA Data

By Mark Brownstein / Published: April 15, 2015

Methane emissions from the US oil and gas sector increased, according to new data finalized today by the Environmental Protection Agency. Sadly, the figures come as no surprise, based on preliminary numbers and plenty of other observations, both scientific and anecdotal. No surprise unless you’re part of the industry’s public relations machine, which keeps insisting that up means down.

What is legitimately surprising is that this problem continues in spite of the many simple, proven and cost effective ways there are to fix it. And therein lies opportunity. Read More »

Posted in Methane, Natural Gas / Tagged EPA, Methane emissions, Natural Gas | Read 1 Response

What do the New Apple Watch and Home Energy Monitors have in Common?

By John Finnigan / Published: April 15, 2015

The new Apple Watch, which went on sale last Friday, is attracting huge attention. Among many other features, the watch will monitor your health by tracking fitness and activity, like the Fitbit. In its first day on the market, nearly one million were sold.

The popularity of this wearable device speaks to a larger trend happening in technology that one might call “life tracking”: the ability to track, analyze, and hone your personal activities through the use of connected devices. From fitness to finance, technology like the Apple Watch is enabling more choice and efficiency than ever before. And, just as fitness wearables monitor our personal activity, other devices can monitor our home energy activity – leading to an array of cost-saving and environmental benefits.

Home energy monitors

The Nest thermostat is one of the most well-known home energy monitors. It learns how you like to set your home temperature, and then automatically programs itself to follow your patterns.

For example, if you work an office job and are away from home nine to ten hours a day, the Nest thermostat may cycle the air conditioner down to increase the home temperature a couple of degrees during the day while you’re gone, and then automatically reduce the temperature an hour or so before you return to re-establish your preferred home temperature. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Demand Response, Electricity Pricing, Grid Modernization / Comments are closed

What InsideClimate Got Right And Wrong About EDF’s Methane Work

By Eric Pooley / Published: April 14, 2015

On April 8, InsideClimate News published an in-depth story about Environmental Defense Fund’s groundbreaking work to measure emissions of methane.

While we don’t agree with everything in the story, we’re glad it recognizes the scope, ambition and scientific integrity of our work. As InsideClimate News concludes:

Environmental groups almost never take on scientific research efforts. Investigations on this scale are normally organized by the federal government or the National Academy of Sciences. Coordinating what’s become an $18 million series of 16 studies by more than 100 researchers has turned EDF into a heavyweight on the science of methane pollution.
The project’s findings will influence government policy concerning the $292 billion-a-year U.S. oil and gas extraction industry and the regulation of fracking…[And] environmentalists acknowledge that EDF has managed to pass some of the nation’s strictest regulations where others have failed.
InsideClimate News interviewed 40 scientists, activists, academics and industry representatives – more than half of whom aren’t involved with the EDF research. This group included 15 methane researchers. None of them said they thought the industry was manipulating EDF’s research results or pressuring scientists to change their data.

But the story also gets some important things wrong, on issues the reporters never asked us about.

We’d like to offer corrections on those points, which we have raised directly with the editors, along with some additional perspective on this important story about methane – a potent greenhouse gas and main component of natural gas. Read More »

Posted in Methane, Natural Gas / Read 2 Responses

4 Ways to Invest in the Low-Carbon Economy

By Peter Sopher / Published: April 13, 2015

Citigroup Inc. recently pledged $100 billion for lending, investing, and facilitating deals related to sustainability, renewable energy, and climate change mitigation. This is yet another sign that global capital markets are enormously interested in delivering capital into clean, renewable sources of energy. But you don’t have to be Citigroup to invest in the clean energy future.

The industry’s rapid growth presents an interesting diversity of long-term opportunities for individuals like you and me who might be looking to make investments in a low carbon economy.

Fueled by an increased demand for solar and wind energy, clean energy investment last year beat expectations, rising 16 percent to $310 billion worldwide, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Fortunately, this robust growth is representative of a general upward trend in clean energy investment over the past decade.

Although the vast majority of this money is coming from governments, corporations, and private equity and venture capital firms, people of all income levels can consider whether it is right for them to add clean energy to their investment portfolios. And, you don’t need millions in the bank to make these types of investments – any investor can consider whether to put their money to use through the four financial instruments described below. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Financing / Read 1 Response

Clean Mountain Air Brings Clarity to Energy Debate at Vail Global Energy Forum

By Andy Darrell / Published: April 10, 2015

Last month, I attended the Vail Global Energy Forum in Colorado. Billed as a “mini-Davos” of energy (studiously ignoring the Aspen crowd a few hours down the highway), that moniker may have felt aspirational when the conference launched three years ago. But, this year it paid off: momentum for frank dialogue and global innovation is building on the slopes of the Vail Valley.

Here’s my take on how the clean air of the mountains cuts through the hot air of energy debates to illuminate practical, actionable ideas.

Three big ideas drove the conference:

North American energy independence

Mexico, the United States, and Canada could, together, innovate their way to an energy marketplace that weakens dependence on overseas imports, scales up clean energy solutions, and charts a path to low-carbon prosperity. At times, the discussion was framed by the rise of unconventional oil and gas exploration (yes, “fracking”), collaboration around pipelines (yes, “Keystone”), and whether these could disrupt traditional geopolitical frames. Read More »

Posted in Air Quality, California, Cap and Trade, Clean Energy, Climate, Colorado, Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing, Methane, Natural Gas, New York, Utility Business Models / Comments are closed